United Arts Council Awards Grants
to 133 Wake County Schools
to 133 Wake County Schools
Beginning in October, Wake County students will be exposed to Japanese storytelling and origami, African dance, opera performances and much more. United Arts is providing more than $103,000 to 133 Wake County public, private and charter schools for the 2009–2010 school year to help schools and PTAs bring professional artists into schools. The United Arts grant money is combined with PTA funding to pay the artists for the programs they offer in the schools. Total combined funding for the program this year is $325,638.
Each summer, PTA representatives from Wake schools apply for funds to help pay for artist events in their children’s schools. PTA and school representatives, along with community presenters, have a chance to see some of the available artists at the United Arts Cultural Arts Festival in August. United Arts’ Artists in the Schools program offers up to four grants per school: one artist performance grant, one opera/chamber music performance grant, one writer-in-residence grant and one artist-in-residence grant. Schools can apply for one, two, three or all four grants each year.
For 30 years, the program, a partnership with the Wake County Public School System, has helped Wake K–12 schools bring professional artists to their campuses for curriculum-based performances, residencies and workshops. It is a national model that has been expanded into neighboring Johnston County and replicated in several other metro areas.
Major sponsors of this program include Wake County Public Schools, Progress Energy, Target, Applebee’s, Bank of America, and Time Warner Cable. Additional support is provided by the North Carolina Arts Council, a division of the Department of Cultural Resources.
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